


Day 17: Ornament

by Magpie_Crow



Series: Inktober 2019 [17]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Character Death, Fluff and Angst, I'm Sorry, Snowball Fight, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 11:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21074330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie_Crow/pseuds/Magpie_Crow
Summary: The snowball hit him square in the face.Virgil doubled over laughing, and Roman took the opportunity to scoop up a handful of snow and begin packing it to make ammunition.





	Day 17: Ornament

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, uh. My sister requested fluff... And I delivered. I also delivered angst, because that's the kind of person I am.
> 
> My bad.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Alright, boys, you both head on back to the house while I finish up here.”

Roman and his brother, Virgil, looked back at their father. “Of course not! How could we possibly leave you to walk alone in the cold?” 

The trio had just finished getting their last traditional family Christmas photos taken, before Virgil left for college and Roman himself moved to Italy. All were in their warmest outfits, having walked to the photography studio and were planning to walk back. 

Their father laughed. “I’ll be fine, kiddos. Look at it this way;” he leaned in conspiratorially. “The sooner you two get home, the sooner Virgil can start up some of his special hot cocoa. I’ve got this covered.”

Virgil made eye contact with Roman and jerked his head towards the door. 

“Consider it done, my dear Padre!” Roman took a few long strides to the door and opened it with a flourish, gesturing for his brother to walk through.

“Why thank you, Prince Pompous.”

“Anything for you, Emo Nightmare.”

“Play nice, boys!”

The two walked in silence for a while, enjoying the crisp winter air and the crunch of the snow beneath their feet.

“Are you looking forward to school, Virge?” 

“As much as I can be, I guess. I’m nervous about leaving dad home alone, but video calls are a thing.”

Roman watched the clouds from his breath drift upwards through the still air. “That they are. Have you been in contact with the theater department?”

“Yeah. Mx. Karrigan from the high school was really happy to send in a recommendation. The department head says I can start working backstage as soon as I hit campus.” Virgil was looking at the ground, as if he was embarrassed at his accomplishments. 

“I’m proud of you, Virge.”

His brother made a huffing sound that _definitely_ meant he was embarrassed, so Roman took pity on him and began retelling a story he had heard. He was so immersed in the telling that he didn’t notice when his brother stopped walking with him.

Roman did, however, notice when a snowball exploded on the back of his head. He spun, only to see Virgil readying another snowball to be thrown. 

“Betrayal! By my own flesh and bloo-urk!” The snowball hit him square in the face.

Virgil doubled over laughing, and Roman took the opportunity to scoop up a handful of snow and begin packing it to make ammunition. 

“I shall defeat you, knave!”

“You can try, Princey!” Virgil took off running, and Roman, snowball held high, followed. 

~~

“What happened to hot cocoa?”

The boys were rolling around in the snow, shoving handfuls of it in each other’s faces. They stopped and looked up at their father guiltily when he spoke. 

“We. Uh. Got… Distracted?” 

Roman noticed that their father was holding a brown paper package under his arm. He jabbed his brother in the ribs. “What have you got, dad?”

He laughed. “Oh, nothing much. Just a little Christmas bonus, if you will. Let’s get inside and get warmed up.” 

Roman stood up with little grace, still shaky with laughter from the tussle. He held out a hand for Virgil, who took it.

And then promptly pulled Roman back into the snow.

Suffice to say, hot cocoa was a much later event than any of them had planned.

~~

Roman stood in the cramped dorm room, running his fingers over the small object he had come here to find. 

“Roman?” 

He turned to his father, who was leaning against the doorframe in his dark suit. 

“It’s time to go, kiddo. The funeral director suggested we be there an hour earlier than the service.”

“Why did it have to be Virgil?”

“Wrong place at the wrong time, most likely. It won’t happen again, the safety commission is investigating the theater as we speak.”

Roman exited the room, clutching the object close to his chest. “At least… At least it happened when he was doing something he enjoyed?”

“Ro, honey, you know Virgil loved working backstage. There’s no question about that.” His father’s hand was warm on his back. “He wanted to be backstage when you made your big debut,  
you know?”

“Yeah. I know.”

No-one had expected the lights shorting out. The director had called it a ‘freak malfunction’, and said it was mere coincidence that Virgil had been in contact with the damaged wire. 

Roman had flown home as soon as he got the call, forgoing his future as a tenor with the Italian Opera. Sure, he might be able to re-apply, but without Virgil waiting for him in the wings,  
what was the point? 

~~

Patton watched as his son bent to brush a stray lock of hair from his brother’s still body. He could see Roman’s lips moving, but had stayed back far enough not to intrude on his privacy, on his last conversation with Virgil.

He saw his son place an item in the casket before turning.

“I need some air.”

The door shut with a final note as Patton approached the serene figure at the front of the church. He didn’t think he had any more capacity to cry, but his eyes began to mist when he saw the object Roman had given his brother for his eternal rest.

It was a small silver-framed photo ornament, with three smiling faces looking out from behind computer generated snowflakes. Patton knew that the back read an inscription he had written to his son before putting the ornament in his stocking. 

_“Here’s to you, Virge! Have lots of fun at college! We love you, kiddo.”_

~~

Roman was glad it was raining outside.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you cry? I did.
> 
> I set up a Discord server! <https://discord.gg/gtWgvQ4>  
Join me to talk about my writing and stuff!
> 
> Find more on tumblr @we-are-fam-ily


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